Digital SLRs are miles ahead of normal mirrorless tiny silver-reflecty-body digital cameras.

A coworker of mine and does lots of photography. We talked. He said things.

Real digital SLRs (detachable lenses, mirror in there) have GIGANTIC ccds, variable aperature (yes they are out there), and by and large can process an image far quicker than silvery-best-buy cameras. I agree there’s going to be marketing out there to make DLSRs look cooler and maybe there’s a few silvery-cams with aperature/shutter speed adjustments or they’re coming out eventually, but I wouldn’t hesitate to score a digital Rebel or a D70 or some other crafty high-ccd brand that we’ve grown to love and trust.

And yes you should take a DSLR to parties. Nothing’s cooler than setting up lighting on insane drunk people and having them all stay in the frame. Also have you ever tried to score good low-light-non-flash pictures with a silvery-best-buy cam? Have you ever attempted sporting events action shots? And oh let’s not even get into filters mmmhm (snap snap).

On the note of technology (my apologies if someone already addressed this, i got bored of reading), the idea of an SLR is to allow you to look through the same lens the film frame sees when the shutter’s open. Technology at some point will force marketing and politics to take a back seat (unlike alternative-fueled vehicles vs oil companies) and SLRs will merge with silvery-best-buys and create some hybrid picture box that captures what people see and makes it into a huuuuge file and do away with the need for a mirror. Maybe instead of SLRs they’ll be called *RBBCWNMMs.

Wesley

*really big black cameras with no more mirror

Secondly, are you familiar with the mechanical functioning of your d70? Is there a mirror that must swing up and out of the focal plane before the shutter can fire? Single Lens Reflex (SLR) means something.
>LOL – yes I understand what an SLR is – I have been using them since 1986.

Finally – I can tell that you are upset that I would have offended your camera and/or yourself. For that, I apologize. Let me go on to say that the D70 is perhaps the greatest amateur to entry pro level digital camera on the market. It is really amazing.
> I don’t know that you offended me as much as you made me laugh. Yes, the D70 is a great camera and yes, there are better out there.

But please, consider the evolution from the 60s to the modern day film based SLR. The form of the SLR is sculpted out of function. The function of a digital camera is really quite different. Why would the perfect shape for a camera that was designed to physically alter the chemicals suspended on a roll of film also be the perfect shape for a camera that uses a ccd to capture light?
> I belive the function is still that of an SLR due to the requirement to have hardware that can hold and support interchangable lenses.

I would be more than happy to discuss the mechanics with you… but I have come to one conclusion. The physical shape of the film based SLR with its prism and mirror and film roll being stored on one side and frame by frame advancing to the other side is specific to the requirements of film based photography. The form of an SLR is not the form of digital photography in the future. The reason that a digital SLR is “SLR” shaped is quite simple – that is the shape that people have come to associate with expensive high end photography.
> Disagree – answer for this is below…

The shape is a gimmick, my friend. Pure and simple. If you disagree to that statement – I have another question for you… Will digital cameras still be in an SLR shape for the next 10-20 years? If the SLR format is so crucial, and not at all tied to a gimmick, it is safe to assume that high end digital cameras would keep the SLR shape into the forseeable future, right? There is a very good reason that SLRs have kept that shape – form follows function. In the digital SLR, form follows the wants and desires of the consumers.
> I disagree that in 10-20 years (I hope) things will change. Camera size has not changed much (for SLRs) in the last 30+ years. I can’t see SLR’s changing size much until they improve on hardware optics and lenses that can be interchanged on a different style camera body. Until this happens, SLR’s will stay around.

And I just saw your additional entry – no apology needed. A good debate is hard to come by – and even harder to achieve when you are worried about offeneding the other person. No worries from my end – and I hope that you realize I mean no offense. I love photography – and there is something that I find so amazing about my fully manual SLRs… and spending hours upon hours in my darkroom developing prints. And finally I should say – congrats on going Nikon. I am a Nikon man through and through.

> Right on :) Glad to hear about no offense – I know I can be abrasive sometimes, just takes a bit of getting used to from what I hear hehe.

> I am always glad to find new photographers in the area – if you ever up for a day trip to go shooting, please let me know. I do it frequently now since I have become unemployeed.

> Scott

:)

WRONG:

1> They are out doing the film SLR’s because they are cheaper to print the photos and there is no development time except for large prints. They are expensive, but the prices will come down more and the film SLRs will go away eventually. Alot of the prices in SLR’s are sick cheap right now because people arnt buying them.

2> A point and shoot can’t compair. Yes, its nice and small and easy for snapshots but if you want to shoot anything besides your sister, then you need something that you can really use to customize your shots. Lenses are required for quality macros and telephotos.

3> Digital zoom – thats a joke. I would never recommend digital zoom because all it does is enlarge the pixals to get a closer image. Not worth it, you can do that in photoshop and get a better print out of it.

4> Status symbal – not me. I actually feel weird having a large camera because everyone is always looking at you like “why do you have that, look at my point and shoot” ;) hehehe.

After getting to the end of your comment, it looks like you might be talking about the point in shoot SLR’s (they are more SLR size but with no option of removing the lens), those are a joke, I do agree with you there.

I have a Nikon D70 – yes, it was pricy, but I would not give it up for anything…but a new version of it. I was a die hard Canon fan until I bought a Nikon Digital for its features, and that turned me into a Nikon Fan. I have not touched any of my film cameras since.

Thanks
Scott

David – Sorry, just re-read what I posted. I didn’t mean to sound so in your face I just get excited about some topics that I realy want to make someone seem my view.

Nothing personal.

Jill, I have run across dpreview in a few google searches. Every time I say whoah, that’s comprehensive, then get distracted by something else and never seem to read an entire review. I’ve been doing a bit of ebay searching – I’ll probably snipe for a while to try and get a magical price on a low-end point-and-shoot for the time being.

I use a Canon A95. It’s a great point and shoot with the ability to do a lot of manual changes, and it requires very little post processing (I find this is common with Cannons) I love my camera and find that it’s the only one I need.

With that said, the last guy I dated had a DSLR. Nikon D70. What a nice camera. As much as I think my camera is well suited for me, whenever I got the chance to shoot with that camera, I took it. I loved using it. The feel, the ability to capture images, the lenses…it was excellent. For me, I wouldn’t want one – don’t want to put in the money for it and the lenses – or have the responsibility. But I can certainly see wanting to own one because they are so nice to use.

So there you have it. You have to figure out what works for you. What type of shots you want to take and where. From what I’ve seen, you love taking pictures at parties and things like that. That’s hard with a DSLR because people notice it more. (Unless you hide across the rom with your telephoto lense) But to just go out shooting, using a DSLR is great.

ps – Camera phones stink. Next time I see you I’ll try to remember to bring my camera and you can play with it.